Pupcake's Winter Struggle
by henry.hboen
Summary: When Pupcake is sent out to deliver to Angel Cake's, things go wrong.


Strawberry Land is no stranger to tense winters. And no one knows that better than both of Strawberry Shortcake's faithful pets: Custard the Cat and Pupcake the Dog.

"I just hope we don't get battered by yet another blizzard." moaned Custard. "I'm sick and tired of the noise distrupting my sleep."

Pupcake barked in agreement.

"Hey, guys!" Strawberry called, running towards them with an envelope in her hands. "I've finished my Christmas letter for Angel Cake. Now, of the two of you, who's gonna deliver it this year?"

She looked back and forth at them a few times until...

"Pupcake!"

The pup was white with shock. On the other hand, Custard was relieved.

"Finally, I don't have to do it this time." she said, walking over to her bed.

Pupcake was still mortified, only letting out short whimpers.

"Don't worry, Pupcake. I'm sure you'll get that letter delivered without trouble." As she says this, she places the envelope into his mouth. She then made her way to the door.

"Alright." she said, opening the door. "Let's go!"

Pupcake moped out the door, cringing from the cold snow under his paws.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" she remembered. "The package!"

Pupcake emitted a muffled groan, before his back was met with a heavy box crashing on top of it, followed by Strawberry tying it to his back.

"There! That gift you picked out for Vanilla Icing is not forgotten!"

At the mere mention of her name, the dog couldn't help but have an envision of Angel Cake's pet lamb winking at him. Pupcake snapped back to reality.

"Good luck!" With that, she slammed the door, causing a handful of snow to fall on the mutt. He popped his head out and yipped in an annoyed tone.

=== A FEW MOMENTS LATER ===

The puppy trudged through deep snow, narrowly tripping himself up a few times. He was then suddenly pelted in the face with a snowball, blinding his vision. It was thrown by Peppermint Fizz only for fun. She was too busy rolling in the snow laughing to see Pupcake heading straight for disaster. He was unknowingly walking towards a frozen lake. The second his paw touched it, he began slipping all over creation.

He slid off the lake and onto a ramp of snow, launching him in the air. He wipes the snow off his face to witness he is flying dangerously close to the trees.  
Before he could do anything else, he smacked face first into one of them, dropping the envelope. He fell into the snow, getting his head stuck. However, he was still able to reclaim the envelope by feeling the ground for it.

=== MEANWHILE ===

"Gee, Strawberry. I'm starting to feel very worried for Pupcake." said Custard. "Especially since the weather is now brewing up."

"Don't worry, Custard. He's been in tough hassles before."

"Earth to Strawberry! He hasn't dealt with this situation before! I know what's going to happen to him from personal experience!"

That was enough to get Strawberry to back off. The cat then raced to the window, with more snow than ever falling.

"If you can hear me Pupcake, I hope you survive this wrath so I can see you again." she prayed, shedding a tear.

=== BACK WITH PUPCAKE ===

The pup was now practically struggling to step ahead due to violent winds. The wind blew another patch of snow into his eyes, blinding him once again and blowing him back. When he stopped though, he realized he wasn't feeling any ground beneath him.

He cleaned his face and looked down, now seeing he has been sent off a cliff.

The pup cried silently before gravity set in and he fell...on a rock.

Dazed and with a lump on his head, he got up. Fortunately, he could make out Angel Cake's house in the distance through the winter blaze, and continued onwards with a weak smile.

=== MEANWHILE...AGAIN ===

Custard was now streaming tears at a fast rate. Strawberry came in and tried to comfort her.

"Don't come one step closer, you airheaded idiot!" Strawberry's eyes widened at this. "You don't seem to care one bit that your beloved dog is likely to DIE in this raging storm."

"What did I tell you before Cus-?"

"Shut up! Must I drill it into you further?! You haven't trained him for this, and now you're sending him off to freeze!? You know what you are? A bad owner!"

Custard turned to walk away, leaving Strawberry by herself.

There was a long silence. It was broken by Strawberry smacking her face, realizing her stupidity.

"Maybe she's right. After all, I didn't consider the big factor she pointed out. I truly am a terrible owner. If only he came back right now and got up in my arms,  
I'd be happy. And even that's unlikely because he'll possibly die and...it's all my fault!" Throughout all this, she started to well up. From the kitchen, Custard hears this and is moved. She re-enters the living room and nuzzles up against her legs.

"I'm glad you finally realized the seriousness of it all." the cat said with a smile.

"Thanks for helping me come to my senses." Strawberry replied, picking her up. "I guess the only thing we can do now is play the waiting game and see if he comes back."

The duo sat on the couch together, comforted by the warm fire.

=== ON THE OTHER HAND ===

Pupcake was almost through the forest that leads to Angel Cake's house, when he bumped into something furry. He then heard a snarl, followed by two more. Emerging from the fury of snow were a trio of wolves, and they all seemed very hungry.

The poor mutt could only grumble in defeat before being savagely attacked.

After a hasty escape, a now badly clawed Pupcake made it out of the woods. Not looking where he's going, he slams into Angel Cake's front door. This catches the attention of her and Vanilla Icing, who were in the middle of baking as per usual. They went over to the door and opened it, and were shocked to see the injured and jittering Pupcake on their doorstep. Angel then noticed the envelope on the ground and the package on his back.

"Harsh, Strawberry." she said as she carried the pup inside. Vanilla picks up the envelope in her mouth and re-enters, closing the door.

She placed the shivering pup in front of her fireplace, as well as untying the package from his back. As she puts it on the table, she turns to Vanilla.

"Now, you keep an eye on Pupcake while I get the sutures."

Vanilla nodded.

After Angel Cake left, Pupcake whimpered to Vanilla.

Pupcake: "(This is just not my day. It feels like I went through all this for nothing!)"

Vanilla: "(What makes you think that?)"

Pupcake, pointing to the package: "(See that? It was meant to be a special gift for you because...ach...I..I wanted to give you something for being such a sweetheart to me.)"

Vanilla was now blushing, but still maintained concern for him.

"(But now, I'm worried you won't like it and, above all, not love me!)"

Vanilla blushed harder, before walking up to him and placing a hoof on his paw.

"(No pup like you should have to go through such a drag.)" She then proceeds to kiss him directly on the lips. To Pupcake, it felt as if all the coldness drained from his body. His ears and tail shot upwards as a reaction, getting the lamb to "giggle". "(And yes, I have a teeny tiny bit of a crush on you.)"

"(This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real.)"

"(It's as real as you'd want it to be, Pupcake. I'll open it after Angel takes care of you. You're more important".)

She smiled at him greatly, getting him to smile back.

"Alright, I'm back!" Angel Cake called out. She returned and quickly got to work on healing Pupcake's cuts. After she's done, she let him roam around a bit with Vanilla.

After at least ten minutes have passed, Angel Cake decided to let Vanilla see her gift.

"Hey, guys! It's time."

The two pets trotted in and sat in front of the package, which was now on the floor. After using a knife to remove the tape, Angel opened the box and pulled out a big,  
blue bow.

"Wow, this is pretty! Do you think so, Vanilla?"

The lamb, in awe, nodded with an elated "baaa".

"Did you pick this out Pupcake?"

He nodded while grinning.

"Come here and try it on." she said to Vanilla.

The lamb walked over and had the bow fixated into her head fluff. After, she strikes a pose and stares down Pupcake.

"(What do you think, sugar?)"

Pupcake, now flustered, responds in the positive. "(It's the most beautiful thing I've seen!)"

Angel Cake looks at them with a grin. "Looks like we have a couple of love birds here." She then got an idea. "Since the storm is still stark raving mad out there, there's no chance you'll make it back in one piece Pupcake. Therefore, you can stay with us tonight...and maybe tomorrow if it continues."

Pupcake thought it was a treat. Looks like things turned out alright after all.

"It's getting a bit late." she said, checking the clock. "You two better get some sleep."

With that, Vanilla grabbed Pupcake's paw and took him to her bed, snuggling into him as she falls asleep. Pupcake did likewise.

=== THE NEXT MORNING ===

It appears that the storm has died down, though there was still loads of snow everywhere. Angel Cake and the pets woke up.

"Sleep well you two?"

The pets nodded in unison.

"Feeling confident enough to go home Pupcake?"

Since he was more peppier than yesterday, he barked in a tone that just screams that we was ready.

"Alright. Careful on the way back."

Before he left, Vanilla gave him a big cuddle. He softly licked her cheek as a response.

=== A LITTLE LATER; AT STRAWBERRY'S ===

"Did I sleep in?" Custard said, waking up. She got to the window and looked out. "And it appears the storm's gone! Yay!"

She then noticed a certain blue and white pup emerging from the forest happily running towards the house.

"Pupcake!?"

Custard instantly rushed outside where the duo hugged each other.

"Oh, Pupcake. You don't know how worried I was. Come on, let's surprise Strawberry. She's still asleep."

Pupcake then frowned and shook his head.

"Don't worry. Strawberry's shown great regret over her actions. You'll see when she wakes."

"STRAWBERRY!" Custard yelled, startling the girl awake. "Guess who's home."

Strawberry rubbed her eyes before gazing at who was next to her.

"Pupcake's here and alive!? I'm so happy I could cry!" she said, picking the dog up and hugging him with all her might.

"I'm very berry sorry I put you through all that. I promise that you won't have to do that again."

Pupcake licked her face, showing that he forgives her. She then let him down, allowing him to walk with Custard out of the room.

"So, what took you so long exactly?"

Pupcake "talked" to her.

"Angel Cake took you in? Great! So, how did things with Vanilla turn out?"

Pupcake barked happily while making a heart with his ears.

"Quite successful by the looks of it. You know, in the end, you're just one lucky dog. You went through a dangerous ordeal, but it was all worth it."

The duo got up to the window and looked outside. Pupcake then noticed something with a confused "Arf?"

"Oh, ignore that grave stone. It's meant for some yapper from Paris, and most certainly not you."


End file.
